Planning to dress up in fake ebola hazmat gear for Halloween? That's awfully douchey, don't you think?
Nonprofit humanitarian group Doctors of the World has an idea, though. Why not join the "More Than a Costume" campaign and help pay for real protective equipment used by medical professionals battling ebola in West Africa?
"Health workers needs a new hazmat suit for each of their rotations, and estimates indicate that over 1 million suits will be needed in the next six weeks," says the organization.
For $1 you can donate a glove, and $5 buys a mask. You can donate a hazmat suit for $250, and throw in a helmet for $500. (Or text EBOLA to 501501 to donate $10. C'mon, you'll spend more than that on Halloween candy.)
The initiative was developed by Publicis Kaplan Thaler in partnership with MediaVest and MSLGROUP. Pro-bono print and digital ads are running this week in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and elsewhere. "Here it's a costume. There it saves lives," says one headline.
Props for leveraging the ebola costume craze in such life-affirming fashion. They've created a program that lets people contribute to the greater good, even those who plan to clomp around in bogus boots and breathe through phony filters on Halloween.
See the full ad below.
CREDITS
Client: Doctors of the World
Agency: Publicis Kaplan Thaler
Chairman: Linda Kaplan
Chief Creative Officer: Rob Feakins
Creative Director: Carlos Figueiredo
Associate Creative Director/ Art Director: Einav Jacubovich, Josh Horn, Corel Theuma
Associate Creative Director/ Copywriter: Cuanan Cronwright, Jeroen De Korte, Salina Cole
Chief Communications Officer: Tricia Kenney, Corporate Communication Manager, Erin Creagh
Chief Production Officer: Lisa Bifulco
Global Managing Director: Jeremy Bowles
Chief Digital Officer: Dawn Winchester
Creative Director of Digital Design: Sabine Roehl
SVP Technology Director: Alec Cumming
Interactive Production: Sabrina Abhyankar, Miranda Ossolinski, Wojo Wieronski, Fatima Osman
Quality Assurance: Earl Willis, Marquita Dennison
Analytics: Emily Burns, Tanvir Hannan
Strategy: Erica Herman, James Quinlan, Sara Knee, Nicole Sands, Nika Rastakhiz
Senior Project Manager: Jonathan Manitsky
Account Team: Marc Burkhalter, Mandy Antoniacci, Andrew McCree, Jake Weitzen, Aneika Fermin, Maxwell Gallin
Print/Art Production: Victor Basile, Veronica Williams
Photographer: Torkil Gudnason
Production Company/ Photographer Rep: Artist & Agency
Production studio: Robert Rosenblatt, David Shand, Dominick Governali, Gen Oldfield, George Bixby, James Du, Paul Deangelo, Nick Mazzo, Peter Boemio Henna Kathiya, Douglas Zaner
Finance Controller: Siretta Pearson
MediaVest EVP, Publishing and Digital Director Investment and Activation: Robin Steinberg
Razorfish Senior Media Director: Kerri Vickers
Razorfish SVP/Client Engagement: Robert Silver
MSL Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications: Michael Echter
MSL President, North America: Paul Newman
MSL Account Team: Renee Wilson, Tim Koch, Jenifer Slaw, Stephanie Herzfeld, Jessica Spano